Grey
by zfirze
Summary: GrimmIchi, oneshot - "I wonder what comes after the after-life,"


havent wrote anything in a while and admittedly, i shouldnt be doing this… should either, 1. be studying or 2. be writing some of my WIP, but hey, this idea was tossed around in my mind for a while already, so why not try verbalising it? but eh, not to worry, i'll be continuing my other WIP after the exams are over (:

been wanting to write something that is around a thousand words only, but i could never seem to achieve this… what the heck is wrong with me?

this fiction was supposed to be somewhat light-hearted… i have no idea how it turned so sombre instead, eh… (it's rather slow too, i've been told) and this is the only fiction that i spent so much time on, writing editing deleting writing, blehh…

and i realised that teal is a very far cry from grimmjow's bright azure blue hair ): i like that word (teal) though…

disclaimer: i don't own Bleach

* * *

**Grey**

* * *

"Ichigo!"

Pulling his headphone away from his head, Ichigo turned around to face the boy running towards him. Even though said guy was his boyfriend, Ichigo could only manage a half-smile in response.

"Don't tell me you were planning to go for the lecture on your own,"

"Not my fault that you're slow, Kenya," Ichigo said nonchalantly, turning around to head for the lecture venue.

"You totally bailed on me," Kenya wrapped his arms around Ichigo's shoulder.

Ichigo only rolled his eyes. A few minutes later, they were standing outside the door of the lecture theatre, joining the crowd of students that were strolling inside.

"Kenya! Ichigo! Over here!"

Ichigo allowed himself to be pulled over to where his other University friends were sitting. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw the stoic figure of Byakuya and Renji at the front of the theatre, the black of their shinigami uniform stood out from the crowd of students. Ichigo inclined his head in acknowledgement when Renji's eyes met his.

"Oh my, are those real shinigamis?" The girl sitting beside Ichigo exclaimed as she leaned forward.

"Damn, I wish I could see them more clearly," Her friend commented wistfully, "They're just blurred figures to me,"

His boyfriend snickered beside him, "Crystal clear!" Kenya looked almost proud and positively gleeful at being fully capable of seeing the Shinigamis at the front.

Ichigo could only roll his eyes. Then he realised that many students in the lecture theatre were the same as Kenya. Those who could not see were wistful and regretful, those who could were practically crowing about it. Being able to see souls seemed to be thought of as a good thing.

Ichigo knew that it was not.

"Can you see them?" Kenya asked.

"Yes," Ichigo said before muttering under his breath, "Unfortunately,"

He rather wished that he never knew anything about spirits and souls or for the matter, anything to do with the world that was not real.

Karakura Town, Karakura University. The Winter War had changed the residents far more than expected. The heavy use of Kidou as well as the reiatsus of the various Shinigamis had transformed an innocent Town into one which knew far too much about Hollows and the after-life.

"I'm kind of glad that there is an after-life," Kenya mused as though he had heard Ichigo's thoughts, "At least dying won't seem so bad now,"

Ichigo nodded half-heartedly, "But I don't really fancy living a life of eternity either. Sounds far too long,"

Kenya paused in his actions, "I wonder what comes after the after-life,"

_I wonder too_.

Their chatter was cut short when Byakuya stood forward as the last of the stragglers arrived. His face was impassive and his posture stiff. For a few moments, he stood silent as his eyes roved over the students present. The theatre hushed almost immediately as student after student sat straighter in their chairs at his commanding gaze.

Ichigo merely folded his arms and placed them on his table, his chin coming down to rest on it. He could practically feel the disapproval oozing out from his boyfriend.

But since it was never Ichigo's choice to be here, Ichigo ignored it.

Pencil idly tracing the blank piece of paper in front of him, Ichigo barely paid attention to Byakuya. What Shinigamis are, what they do and what they can do. All these questions, Ichigo had no interest in.

He had no interest in anything related to Soul Society. Not after what they had done.

Ichigo scowled before sighing heavily at the thought.

Sometimes, he wondered what his current boyfriend sees in him.

Sometimes, he wondered how his University life would be like if he did not have a boyfriend.

Sometimes, he wondered how his life would be if _he_ was still alive.

But most of the time, Ichigo brushed this thought aside as soon as it appeared. It was pointless to waste energy on wishing for something that will never come true.

* * *

"Ichigo, stand back," Kenya muttered, his arms pushing Ichigo behind him and into the wall.

Ichigo obediently stood back at Kenya's command. It was just their luck to meet with some petty gang on their way home. Ichigo knew they should have taken the longer way back from his part time job at a bookstore.

"Look what we have here," A low husky voice sounded from a guy in the circle, "Two pretty boys, ripe for our picking,"

Ichigo glanced up and down the street. The entire place was deserted and the lights above them flickered ominously. Great, they managed to get themselves ambushed in a place where no one else could help them.

The gang that had surrounded them chuckled at Ichigo and Kenya's action. Ichigo definitely knew how it looked like. He was being protected like a damsel in distress.

But it was not like he cared.

"Watch and learn from the pro," Kenya grinned confidently at Ichigo before launching himself at the gang.

Ichigo stayed near the wall since he knew that Kenya would not want his help. Besides, as far as Kenya was concerned, Ichigo was a weak helpless teen who could not fight to save his own life.

How far that was from the truth.

Ichigo watched as Kenya fought. It was a tough fight since it was one against five but he could see that Kenya was winning. Even though he was not the smoothest fighter, Kenya made up for it by being a wild cannon. A complete daredevil.

Ichigo could almost see himself reflected in Kenya. He used to be the same, fighting for his friends, fighting to save them. It had been nearly five years since he had done so.

Unsurprisingly, Ichigo did not miss any part of it.

Except maybe the exhilaration that came with fighting _him_.

Shaking himself away from where that train of thought led him, Ichigo walked towards Kenya who was standing triumphantly over the leader of the small gang. Reaching out with a finger, Ichigo prodded the bruise that was forming on Kenya's face. A yelp of pain came from Kenya at the harsh treatment.

"You're okay?" Ichigo asked as he continued prodding at the places where he had seen Kenya was punched.

"Will be once you stop inflicting pain on me," Kenya grunted, "And you! Stay away from us if you know what's best," Kenya growled warningly at the gangleader.

Casting a glance at the defeated guy, Ichigo pulled Kenya away, "Come on, let's get you cleaned up,"

* * *

"_Release the Soukyokou!"_

_The great phoenix reared back before diving towards the prone figure that was bound and gagged on the Soukyokou Rack. The crushing reiatsu of a million zankpakutous gathered and cut into the helpless body, tearing into it and burning it straight into ashes._

"_GRIMMJOW!"_

Ichigo woke with a start and his head jerked up from his desk. His breath came out in harsh pants as he tried to calm himself down. He had not had such a vivid nightmare as that one for nearly a month. Briefly, Ichigo wondered when he would never have it again.

Then again, he would always look forward to seeing _him_ again. Even if it was in a nightmare.

How twisted was that?

Ichigo waved off Kenya's concern and tried to gather himself. Having a nightmare in the middle of class was rather disconcerting. Was it a premonition of things to come?

Shrugging the thought off, Ichigo picked up his papers and arranged them in a stack. He folded his arms and waited for the class to end. Ichigo could feel Kenya's disapproving frown.

The bell rang a few minutes later and Ichigo picked himself out from his chair. Kenya gave him a brief hug before rushing off and Ichigo forced his tensed muscles to relax. It had already been nearly half a year since they started a relationship, why does he still tense every time Kenya hugged him?

Ichigo slowly made his way out of the theatre. He was feeling some guilt at not… thinking of Kenya the same way that Kenya apparently did. He sighed heavily. What should he do then?

Once he was in the hallway, students rushed past him in their hurry and Ichigo scowled when none bothered apologising. Then again, he seemed to be the only one that was not hurrying anywhere.

Involuntarily, Ichigo's eyes rose as he walked the hallway of the University. Byakuya stared back at him from afar and Ichigo faltered in his step for a moment. His pace picked up a second later after he inclined his head towards Byakuya to acknowledge the man. Ichigo was out of the University in no time.

Glancing behind him, Ichigo almost gave a sigh of relief at leaving the suffocating place. It would have been fine if there were no Shinigamis roaming the school.

Ichigo tucked his hands into his pocket and slouched, leaning on a nearby wall as he contemplated where to go to spend his time. In the end, he chose the park. After all, he might meet Yuzu or Karin there and it had been some time since he had seen them.

After all, he had no wish to return home to chance meeting his father who had a hand in deciding _his_ fate.

Reaching the park, Ichigo headed towards the playground since he knew that place was mostly empty at this time of the day. Shrugging, Ichigo made to sit down on the swing that was in the centre of the playground.

A loud voice distracted him from his goal and Ichigo's natural curiosity guided him towards the sound.

"Mind your own business, freak,"

Ichigo frowned. Was someone being picked on? He jogged lightly pass the bushes that separated the playground from the open field. And froze when he saw the scene in front of him.

"Shut the fuck up, you oversized idiot," A small child, looking no older than twelve and clutching a small kitten in his arm, glared defiantly at the obese middle school teen who towered over him.

It looked like a normal bully scene, an older and larger person flanked by his cronies and cornering a younger helpless child. Except for the fact that the younger child here does not looked so helpless.

But that was not what had caught Ichigo's attention. What made Ichigo's breath catch was the shock of azure hair that the child sported.

"You brat," The larger teen made a swiping movement with his hand and Ichigo's eyes widened, already expecting for the young child to be hit.

Instead, the child stepped back and ducked, effectively dodging the hand. The older teen's two other friends merely laughed when the child stuck his tongue out childishly. Ichigo was glad that they were more amused than angry. In fact, the only one who was worked up was the obese teen. Ichigo decided to step in before things turned even uglier.

"Oi, shouldn't you guys be in school?"

The three middle school students stiffened at Ichigo's voice and turned slightly around. They stuttered an apology and some excuse when they saw that Ichigo was much older than them and could report their truancy. They fled a moment later and Ichigo looked on in amusement.

The sound of a soft meow pulled his attention back to the child. Ichigo knelt down on his knees to observe the small child stroking the tiny kitten in his arms.

"Are you alright?"

The child looked up at him sharply, "Of course I am. Do I look like I needed rescuing?"

Ichigo had to stop himself from rolling his eyes, "What happened anyway?"

"None of your business, asswipe,"

Ichigo's eyebrow rose at the vulgar language, "For someone so young, you seemed to know too much of this kind of words,"

"What can I say, it's an inborn talent," Then the child grinned and for a moment, _his_ face superimposed the child's.

Ichigo's hand reached out to touch him, ignoring the way that the child was staring at him. In fact, the child looked far too much like _him_. The hair, the eyes, the facial expression. Even the face, though that of a child, was exactly how Ichigo would have imagined _him_ to look like when _he_ was younger.

"What's your name?" Ichigo's voice was strange, even to his ears.

"Why should I tell you? I've been told not to talk to strangers, you know,"

Ichigo really did roll his eyes in exasperation this time, "Fine, I'll introduce myself, so then I won't be a stranger. Kurosaki Ichigo," Ichigo pointed to himself.

The child snorted, "Like I would fall for that trick, you could be a kidnapper for all I know," He stared at Ichigo for a few more moments, "But for a kidnapper, having an alias named after a fruit isn't very catching, isn't it, Strawberry?" The child smirked.

"Tell me your name, please," Ichigo said in a choked voice, the child's gesture and speech was far too reminiscent.

A moment of consideration later, the child seemed to give in, "Grimmjow. My name is Grimmjow,"

Ichigo could not stop himself. He reached out and pulled the child towards him, his arms wrapping tightly around the small body.

Curses came from the child as he tried to move the young kitten out of Ichigo's tight embrace so that it would not be crushed, "What the hell, old man. Are you molesting me?"

The words caused Ichigo to snort in amusement, jarring him out of the wave of emotions that hit him, "You wish, kiddo," Ichigo had to smile when the child named Grimmjow scowled at him.

"Whatever man, just get your hands off me," Grimmjow grumbled.

Ichigo released the child and peered down at the kitten that Grimmjow was still cradling, "It's tiny. Is it yours?"

"Of course it's tiny, you idiot, it's a kitten," Grimmjow deadpanned.

Ichigo scowled at being called an idiot by someone so much younger than him.

Grimmjow smirked at Ichigo's expression before holding up the bundle for Ichigo, "You can have the kitten if you want. It's not like I could keep it,"

Blinking, Ichigo took the bundle offered to him, "You can't? I thought the kitten was yours,"

"If it was mine, it wouldn't looked so scrawny and banged up,"

Ichigo looked down sharply. Grimmjow was right, the young kitten looked like it had been kicked around. Ichigo's eyes darkened.

"Were the guys you were screaming at earlier responsible for this?"

"Took you long enough to realise, shithead," Grimmjow muttered before he frowned, "And excuse me?" Grimmjow looked affronted, "Who was screaming at whom?"

Ichigo rolled his eyes, "Alright, fine. The guys you were yelling at then. In a very manly fashion,"

A growl came from Grimmjow and without warning, Ichigo found himself on the ground with a small weight sitting on him. Grimmjow's grin was smug as he planted himself firmly on Ichigo's stomach.

"You're so childish," Ichigo murmured suddenly, finding the smug grin out of place on the child's face.

Grimmjow's grin changed into a glower and he opened his mouth to yell at Ichigo.

"Grimmjow!"

The pair looked up at the voice. A woman with a motherly air was hurrying towards them. Ichigo could feel Grimmjow slouching further down, giving an all-suffering sigh as he did so.

"What do you want, woman," Grimmjow demanded.

Ichigo blinked at the tone that Grimmjow took before frowning. That was far too rude. And he told Grimmjow that by smacking the back of the child's head.

Grimmjow turned sharply from his place on Ichigo's stomach to glare at Ichigo. Ignoring that, Ichigo winced instead at the slight burn on his stomach that resulted from the harsh movement.

"We have to go now, Grimmjow dear," The woman said kindly, obviously used to Grimmjow's attitude.

Grimmjow scowled at Ichigo one final time before standing up, "Look after that kitten properly, asshole," He walked off without a backward glance.

"Sorry about any trouble that Grimmjow had caused you," The woman bowed to Ichigo before hurrying after the child.

Ichigo's eyes followed them until they were out of sight. He let out a breath that he had not realised he was holding and looked down at the kitten that was meowing in his arm. His hand reached out to pet it languidly. He would have to get it to a vet soon.

His hand moved away when the kitten decided to explore the flat expanse of Ichigo's abdomen, taking a few tiny steps before collapsing. Ichigo helped it to stand again when it did so and Ichigo's mind started to wander without his conscious guiding.

There was no mistaking, that child was Grimmjow. Had he been reincarnated then? If so, Ichigo was glad. But… Ichigo held up his hand to the sky as he laid on his back, counting the number of years that had passed. Grimmjow should only be five this year, but he definitely looked older than that. Ichigo frowned. Could it be that child was not the Grimmjow he knew?

"I see you've met him," A voice came casually from beside Ichigo.

Ichigo's eyes flicked to the crouched figure in surprise, "Renji?" Then the words registered, "You knew he was here!"

Renji shifted uncomfortably for a few moments under Ichigo's demanding glare. Few seconds later, Renji sighed heavily as he gave in and sat down next to Ichigo on the grass.

"Well?" Ichigo said impatiently.

* * *

Ichigo stood outside the white building that towered over him. His eyes took in the freshly painted walls and the newly cut grass of the four storeys building as he fidgeted. He knew what he wanted to do, so why was he hesitating?

Renji had filled him in yesterday. At Grimmjow's apparent execution, it seemed that Kurotsuchi Mayuri had exchanged him with a gigai. The gigai was executed while Grimmjow sat bound and tied in Mayuri's office. Ichigo shuddered at Renji's guesses on what Mayuri had subjected Grimmjow to. They had confirmed that there were at least several rounds of blood extraction before Mayuri tested a prototype serum on Grimmjow.

Needless to say, it had failed and resulted in Grimmjow's current state. The rest of Soul Society was only informed of Mayuri's experimentation when Division Twelve exploded and they found an eight year old child in the middle of the mess, looking thoroughly roughened out. After a few days in the Fourth, Yamamoto SouTaichou decided that he would be better off in the Real World since that was where all humans belonged. And Grimmjow was undoubtedly, a human now.

That was the main reason why Byakuya and Renji were in Karakura. Grimmjow was originally dropped off in an orphanage in the neighbouring town, but due to some circumstances, the orphanage had moved to Karakura. The two captain-class Shinigamis were there to attempt to diffuse any problematic situations that Grimmjow might meet with, since there were so many people in Karakura who were involved in the War.

Ichigo took a deep breath to steel himself before stepping forth and pushing the gate open. He walked a short distance, making his way to the receptionist stationed near the door.

"Hello, may I help you?" The receptionist smiled politely at him.

Ichigo looked at her in surprise. The girl looked younger than him. Was she really working here or was she just helping out?

He cleared his throat nervously when he realised that he was staring blatantly, "Actually yes, I was wonderin – "

"Oh, it's you!" Ichigo was cut off by a female's voice.

Turning around, Ichigo was met with the woman in the park. She was positively beaming at him even through the strong clutch she had on the young boy in her hands.

"Go on and find Akiya-sensei," She nudged the boy in her grasp towards a room.

The boy fixed her with a baleful glare before stalking off towards the yellow door. Ichigo had to admire her ability to smile serenely throughout the whole process.

"So, is there anything I can do for you?" She gestured for Ichigo to walk with her, "Would you like to meet Grimmjow again?"

Ichigo stumbled in his steps, "Er, I – that – I mean – er, yeah, that would be great," He offered a half smile.

She coughed hurriedly to cover up her laughter and Ichigo promptly scowled at her. She ushered him into a waiting room and rushed off after ensuring that Ichigo was comfortable there.

Ichigo's fingers tapped nervously against the arm rest of the sofa. What should he say when he meet Grimmjow again? Shuffling his feets around, Ichigo forced himself to look around the room in an attempt to calm himself down. It was not very successful.

"Feh, it's you. What do you want?"

Ichigo turned sharply. The small figure casually strode to the centre of the room and sat himself in the sofa across Ichigo's. There was an amused expression on the kid's face and Ichigo stopped his fidgeting immediately.

"Just came to see if you're alright," Ichigo shrugged in a seemingly nonchalant way.

"Never better. Is that all?" Grimmjow stood up, "I'll be going off then,"

"I've named the kitten Pantera," Ichigo blurted out.

There was a pause as Grimmjow stopped in mid-step and slowly turned around to regard Ichigo with a strange expression on his face, "Did you now? That's a rather strange name,"

Ichigo stood and walked towards Grimmjow, before kneeling down so that they would at eye-level, "Yeah, would you… would you like to see her?"

"Are you trying to invite me over to your place?" Grimmjow's eyebrow rose.

"Do you want to?"

Grimmjow visibly hesitated. He took a step back and seemed to consider Ichigo properly. Ichigo tensed under the scrutiny.

"Do I know you? I mean, before yesterday," Grimmjow asked curiously and was met with silence, "You aren't looking to adopt me, are you?"

"…would you mind if I did?" Ichigo answered, "Are you happy here? With your friends?" He asked quietly.

"Well, I'm fed and clothed here, if that's what you meant," Then he scowled, "And I do not have friends here," He sneered.

Ichigo frowned at that, "Why not?"

"Do you use your brain? This is an orphanage, brats are always entering and leaving,"

Ichigo prodded Grimmjow's forehead, "Calling them brats isn't very nice. Aren't you a brat as well?"

Grimmjow looked offended and Ichigo's lips lifted in amusement.

"So what do you say?"

"To what?" Grimmjow shifted on his feet and Ichigo could tell he was avoiding the question.

"It's fine, you don't have to agree," Ichigo said gently as he hid his disappointment.

Silence permeated the room before Ichigo slowly stood up. His hand reached out and ruffled the top of Grimmjow's head. Ichigo paused in surprise when Grimmjow did not stop him and he hesitated before continuing the affectionate gesture.

"I'll be going then, maybe I'll come back and see you soon?"

"What the hell are you talking about, asshole," Grimmjow sneered before muttering under his breath, "Why would you need to come back if I'm going back with you?"

* * *

"What do you mean you adopted a child?!" Kenya spat out the mouthful of chicken he had just bitten, "You're only twenty!"

"And your point?" Ichigo's eyes glanced down at the chunk of chicken that decorated the table.

"It's a huge responsibility!" Kenya gestured frantically.

"I'll be fine. It's not as if I can't support him,"

"That's not what I meant. I mean that, look, he's a kid and he'll need supervision and guidance. Can you do that? What about your own school, your life?"

"He's more important to me than my non-existent life," Ichigo said quietly.

Kenya stared at him for a while and Ichigo realised that maybe he should not have said that. After all, his 'non-existent life' included Kenya. Ichigo picked nervously at his food and waited for an outburst from his boyfriend.

"Can I meet him?"

Ichigo looked up in surprise. He was definitely not expecting that. Kenya looked at him expectantly.

"Er, sure. He should be ending school around now," Ichigo looked at his watch thoughtfully, "And he'll probably be back in the apartment by the time we reached there,"

Kenya was silent for a moment, "You gave him a key?"

Ichigo looked at him weirdly, "Yeah? How else would he let himself in?"

A strange look crossed Kenya's face before disappearing as quickly as it appeared. Ichigo frowned. Was he doing something wrong?

Kenya hesitated, "What's his name?"

"Grimmjow. No last name yet. Maybe he'll take on mine but we haven't talked about that yet,"

Nodding, Kenya turned back to his lunch and poked the meat for a few seconds before sighing, "I can't finish this. Can we go back to your apartment? I want to meet this child,"

Ichigo arched an eyebrow at the mostly uneaten lunch before nodding. Kenya never missed his lunch, so what was stopping him now? Ichigo gave a mental shrug as he brushed the subject aside.

They packed up their lunch and made their way off the University ground and back to Ichigo's apartment. The whole way, Ichigo shot Kenya curious glances. Kenya was being too quiet and it was very different from the usual chatty guy he knew.

In a short while, they were climbing the steps up to reach Ichigo's second floor apartment. Ichigo paused outside his door, shooting a glance at Kenya who was standing rather stiffly.

"I'm back," Ichigo pushed his door open.

"Finally, asshole. I thought you've died," Was the answering response.

"Thanks for the concern," Ichigo shot back sarcastically at the figure that was lounging on the sofa and flipping through the channels on the television.

"Hmmm," Grimmjow turned away from the television when he realised that there was a third person in the house, "That your boyfriend?"

"Grimmjow, Kenya. Kenya, Grimmjow," Ichigo said as way of introduction.

Grimmjow gave Kenya a scrutinising look. Kenya, on the other hand, just stared. Extremely irritated by the stare, Grimmjow gave the finger to Kenya before turning his attention back to the television.

Kenya blinked as he was swiftly jerked back into his own mind. He grabbed Ichigo and pulled him to the kitchen.

Ichigo looked at him bemusedly, "Not what you've expected?"

"No, no, definitely not," Kenya said distractedly, "He's foul-mouthed and rude, for one,"

"Oh yeah, he said it was an inborn talent," Ichigo gave a small snort.

"And he's young. Younger than I've been expecting," Kenya said pointedly.

Ichigo frowned, "Is there something wrong with that?"

Kenya hesitated before shaking his head. He stood there for a few seconds, trying to gather his thoughts.

"Some coke will be nice!" Grimmjow yelled from the other room.

"Get it yourself, brat!" Ichigo shot back.

That resulted in some loud grumbling but a few moments later, Grimmjow slouched into the kitchen, opening the refrigerator and grabbing his can of coke. Grimmjow then stalked out of the kitchen after exchanging a few curses with Ichigo.

Kenya watched the interaction between Ichigo and Grimmjow curiously. They were arguing but it seemed… almost second nature to them.

Ichigo turned back to him, grumbling under his breath.

"You seemed happier now," Kenya commented.

Ichigo blinked at his words before considering, "Yeah, I think I am," He nodded hesitantly.

Kenya shook his head ruefully, "Sometimes, I really have no idea what you are thinking. Or that if I had even knew the real you," Kenya paused, "You know, I've always wonder if anybody would ever know you,"

Ichigo said nothing. Kenya offered a small smile before leaving the kitchen and the apartment. Somehow, Ichigo got a feeling that he was leaving more than just the physical space.

Mulling over Kenya's last words, Ichigo wandered to the living room and stood over the sofa that Grimmjow was occupying.

"Sit down, idiot, don't stand there and breathe all over me,"

* * *

"This is some shit luck," Ichigo muttered under his breath.

"Hello pretty, we meet again. And it seems like you don't have your boyfriend with you this time,"

Ichigo quickly counted the number of guys he was faced with. Nine of them. Ichigo briefly wondered if he could handle them.

A small snort came from in front of Ichigo, "Please asshole, open your eyes. Is he even pretty?" Grimmjow jabbed a rude finger at Ichigo.

"Grimmjow! Don't provoke them!" Ichigo hissed.

"It's your entire fault for getting caught in this situation," Grimmjow shot back.

"Oh my, first you have a knight in shining armour, and now you have a small child to defend you. How… sweet," The gangleader mocked.

Ichigo adopted a casual stance, trying to look nonchalant, "How's your bruise anyway?" He smirked when the gangleader's look turned murderous.

"And now who's the one provoking him," Grimmjow muttered.

"Oh, shut up,"

"Enough of your sweet whispering. Give up now and we promise not to hurt you too much," An evil grin decorated the face of the gangleader.

"Grimmjow," Ichigo said lowly, "On the count of three, run,"

"What? No way!" Grimmjow protested.

"Listen to me!" Ichigo glared at him fiercely before pushing Grimmjow behind him, "One, two – "

"Ichigo!"

"Three! Run!" Ichigo shoved Grimmjow away roughly and in the same movement, launched himself at the gangleader.

Dodging the arm that came to meet him, Ichigo chanced a glance at Grimmjow out of the corner of his eyes. Grimmjow was scrambling back onto his feet and looking rebellious. Ichigo glared at him before giving a reassuring grin to Grimmjow.

"Damn, that kid ran off,"

"Forget him, we got a better deal here,"

Ichigo turned his attention back to his attackers. They had formed a circle and surrounded him. Taking a deep breath to regulate his breathing, Ichigo slid into a familiar stance with his legs casually parted and his fists raised. It was a stance that he had not used in five years.

This seemed to infuriate the gangleader, "Get him!"

Ichigo's fists flew at the guy who reached him first and in the same instance, jerked his hand back to hit the face of the attacker behind him. There was a satisfying crunch as the guy's nose broke and Ichigo could vaguely feel some of the blood from the broken nose dripping onto his elbow. He cringed in revulsion.

His actions fuelled the rest of the gang into action. Ichigo moved faster than he had ever done these past five years, his legs sweeping out and his hands moving back and forth to deliver blows.

Punches after punches came at him and Ichigo managed to dodge most of them. A few came from behind him and the fists grazed his side when he could not move fast enough away to dodge them.

But slowly and surely, the number he was against dwindled. With a powerful punch to the leader's stomach, Ichigo knocked the breath out of him and causing him to cough up some blood. Another blow to the back of his neck and the guy was out cold. Ichigo's face scrunched up at the sight and he moved a step back, his hands ready for the next attack.

Except none came.

Ichigo blinked and looked around properly for the first time. All the nine guys he was against were either lying on the floor or crouching near the wall, holding their broken nose or hand in pain.

The exhilaration hit him in the next second. The blood in his ears pounded loudly as his adrenaline ran high. His fists stung from where it connected with other people's body parts and his sides hurt from being hit by a punch. A grin stretched wide on his face as he breathed deeply. He had never felt so alive.

A small weight collided with him and clung to his waist suddenly and Ichigo raised his fists, thinking it was a new attacker. He stopped in his motion when he saw the crown of azure hair.

"You are an idiot," Grimmjow's voice came muffled from his shirt.

Ichigo smiled at Grimmjow's gruff words.

"Don't you ever force me to run off again,"

"I don't want to see you get hurt," Ichigo kneeled so that he was at eye level with the child.

"And I don't want to see you get hurt," Grimmjow met his with a defiant glare.

Ichigo reached out and ruffled the azure hair, pulling Grimmjow into a reassuring hug. Grimmjow was just a child now but Ichigo felt that maybe he had found that someone who he could connect with.


End file.
